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Computer gaming here I come, first PC build, any tips?

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jcbullen

New Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
So I've decided to game more on computer than consoles and I will be building my first computer. I can spend between $1000-$1500 and I've decided on the following components:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
MoBo: ASRock P67 Extreme4 ATX Intel Motherboard
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3 1600
Power Supply: Antec Higher Current Gamer Series 750W SLI/CrossFire certified
Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Disc Drive: Asus 24x DVD Burner
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower
Monitor: Asus 23.6" 1080P Widescreen Monitor

Now I've got the problem of video card. I've been looking at several different ones:

1. Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit ($470)
2. MSI Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit 940MHz ($395) or 3. XFX Radeon HD 6970 2GB 256-bit 880MHz ($300)
4. EVGA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB 384-bit ($470) or 5. GigaByte GeForce GTX 580 3GB 384-bit ($550)
6. EVGA Geforce GTX 570 2.5GB 320-bit ($395)
7. EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB 256-bit ($175) x 2 for ($350)

Excluding the video card, do all of the other parts look like they are pretty decent and cohesive? What would you recommend for the video card? Should I avoid the dual GTX 560 in favor of the 300 dollar 6970? Will the jump to the GTX 580 or 7950 blow me away? Would these be compatible with the rest of the system? Thanks for anybody who goes through this at all, I appreciate it!
 
Buy the 7950 video card. If you have money left over then do yourself a favour and buy a small SSD. A 60GB model will be enough and it will make a huge difference to the performance of your computer.
 
I would highly recommend a SSD as well; when I got one I could not believe the difference it made. If you decide to get a SSD make sure that it is a SATA III model. I bought a SATA II by mistake and returned it the next day.
 
So it sounds like a small SSD is a pretty big recommendation. Would I just install my OS on that and pretty much use my 1TB drive for everything else?

The 7950 is pretty expensive, but it looks pretty sweet. Also, I could always drop another one in later once the price drops. Does that motherboard and PSU look like they would be able to handle a set of these? Also, they sell overclocked versions of the GPUs for a bit more money. Would you recommend buying the OC version, or just the regular version?
 
So it sounds like a small SSD is a pretty big recommendation. Would I just install my OS on that and pretty much use my 1TB drive for everything else?

That is what I am currently doing I have Win 7 on my 128GB SSD and all of my Media on a 1.5TB drive and all of my programs on a 250GB drive. It works well enough.
Another recommendation, when you install Win 7 it makes a huge page file on the install HD, this takes up a lot of space and if you have a lot of ram it is completely unnecessary; go into the settings and either turn it off or move it to a different drive. After installing my page file was 12GB on the SSD if you are using a 60GB drive that is a huge amount of wasted space.
 
So it sounds like a small SSD is a pretty big recommendation. Would I just install my OS on that and pretty much use my 1TB drive for everything else?

The 7950 is pretty expensive, but it looks pretty sweet. Also, I could always drop another one in later once the price drops. Does that motherboard and PSU look like they would be able to handle a set of these? Also, they sell overclocked versions of the GPUs for a bit more money. Would you recommend buying the OC version, or just the regular version?

On a 60GB SSD you should have enough room for Windows 7, 1 big game and most, if not all of your apps.

You will need 2 disk drives so you have some redundancy unless your data is worthless to you.

Personally I'd go for a bigger PSU if you want to Crossfire in the future, a TX950 will do the job very nicely. The factory overclocked versions aren't worth the extra money unless they have a better cooler than the reference version.
 
Well thanks for all of the input everyone. I think I've bumped myself up and over my budget, but oh well, it'll be worth it.
 
On a 60GB SSD you should have enough room for Windows 7, 1 big game and most, if not all of your apps.

:bday: Please don't use that apple-ism referring to PC programs :bday:.
I also suggest 7950, and if you have the $, a 120GB SSD. It can be a slightly cheaper one that's still faster like an Agility 3 from OCZ. 120GB lets you put a lot more stuff on there. OS, many games, big page file. Then your storage drive is for older games and storage of your files like movies/pictures and so on. This is what I have set up and it works well.
 
Honestly it doesnt have to be a SATA3 SSD. They are so fast anything sata2 or better will grant you a major boost in performance. Ive got a corsair F115 in my main rig and I cant really see the difference between that and the 60GB sata3 in my wifes rig, outside of benches of course.
 
Well indeed that is a great deal if the MIR comes through. I was simply pointing out that if he wants bigger than 60GB and cant stretch for a sata3 drive that a sata 2 drive is almost as good.
 
Well indeed that is a great deal if the MIR comes through. I was simply pointing out that if he wants bigger than 60GB and cant stretch for a sata3 drive that a sata 2 drive is almost as good.

No I hear you. :). I wanted the OP to be aware that you can get a SATA3 120GB unit for very cheap. It's cheaper NAND but nobody has complained that their Agility 3 burned out and they have been around a long time. Several people on the forum are using one.
 
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